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Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Borer Weather

Wood boring insects such as the common borer (bora), two tooth longhorn and others like their wood with a little moisture; 'to aid digestion.'

The North Island and Upper South Island of New Zealand have experienced one of the wettest Decembers on record and the damp conditions are set to continue for another week or two at least. This is the middle of the borer flight season and it is the time that people notice extra little holes in their weatherboards, floorboards, skirting, architraves, furniture and other wood around the home.

You may not be aware the extra activity in the borer world but the woodworm (borer larvae) will be taking advantage of the conditions to chew through more of your home and furniture. Then they pupate near the surface before emerging as adult beetles. As can be seen from the profile of the floorboard above the majority of damage and flight holes are on the underside, so that the adult borer emerge into the dark damp sub-floor areas. Damage to the observable surfaces of such timbers are a small fraction of the damage within.

The adults fly to find a mate and then the female seeks out some bare wood, preferably wood with a little moisture (sub-floor, old flight holes, eaves, etc.), to lay her eggs and start the whole life cycle over again.

Now is the best time to inject flight holes with borer injector fluid and the paint or spray bare timbers. if there are timbers such as the sud-floor that cannot be reached, bomb the adult borer with borer bombs.

What did the borer larvae say when he walked into the bar?"Is the bar tender here?"